


Family to the Rescue

by Arytra



Category: Power Rangers
Genre: All of the Zeo Rangers, All of the original Rangers, Eventual Fluff, Gen, Justin deserves a better life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 21:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5221748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Justin gets trapped in the system, the others find a way to rescue him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family to the Rescue

It started out feeling like a pain in the chest. None of them were old enough to think it was a heart attack, but it still hurt and they all had similar pain. First it felt like a throb, but then increased. The pain moved from the heart to the stomach which left most of them feeling like they'd caught some sort of horrible sickness. About a week in, they felt a pull along with it and each of them realized that they were being pulled somewhere. They weren't sure why exactly, but it was enough that each of them separately decided to listen to it and let it lead them.

Jason was the first one back and possibly the least surprised to find himself in front of the destroyed Command Center. He stood there for a minute, taking in the charred remains of his former home. He'd known, of course, but it was still always hard to see and deal with. He didn't want to touch any of it, afraid that he might accidentally break something further. He sat down in the middle of it and waited.

Trini was the next to arrive and just took a seat next to Jason without saying a word. He glanced in her direction, but he didn't say anything. She didn't either. Instead, they sat there together in perfect silence. When Zack showed up, they were surprised on how uncharacteristically calm he was as well, but neither commented on it. After a little while, Jason glanced over at the two, but whatever he was going to say was lost. All he knew was that whatever was wrong, it didn't affect them right now anymore than it affected him. They weren't the ones in danger. A small part of himself felt horrible over how grateful he was for that even if he was still worried.

Kim was there next, looking over all of them in a slight frenzy and relaxing when she saw that they were safe. Aisha showed up next, looking like she hadn't slept in days. Kim pulled her to her and quietly fussed over her while Aisha barely protested. Adam showed up, looking completely confused over what was going on. Then Tanya and Tommy arrived at the same time. Kat made it back from England. And Billy somehow showed up from Aquitar. No one questioned it. It was when Rocky showed up that the mood shifted. It wasn't better or worse, it was just nervous. And Rocky's look of dread was the reason for it.

“Rocky?” Kim asked, reaching out. She was surprised when he pulled back. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” he managed to get out. They all looked confused, but the feeling hadn't quelled. It wasn't Rocky who was causing it. That said, the look on his face told them that he knew who was in danger.

“It's Justin.” There was an uproar.

***

The Rangers who had been Rangers with Justin were asking various questions while those who hadn't politely waited for the others to finish. Rocky wasn't answering any of the questions, but was just more looking shell shocked. Kim finally interceded with Jason's help. “Give him room,” Kim ordered. Jason just gave them a leader look while he tried to help Kim with Rocky. Billy glanced at the others and then at Rocky, glancing him over and Aisha was already at his side.

Trini and Zack were staying further back and just watching the others. They noticed the guilty looked and worried expressions. The latter made sense, but the former worried them. There shouldn't be a reason as to why they were feeling guilty over it unless they'd done something. Still, they'd question it later. Rocky finally pulled himself together. “Justin's dad... he wasn't there. He just took off again and left Justin at home.”

“Is Justin okay?” Kat asked. Rocky gave her a look.

“No,” he answered. “The state pulled him out of the house. It was his dad's last chance. They put him back at the orphanage and then with a foster family.”

“Isn't that a good thing?” Tanya asked. Rocky shook his head.

“There's too many kids and not enough families. They don't have the rules we have toward normal families. They get away with more. Kids can be abused, neglected, and scarred and as long as they're doing well with a different kid or are willing to take in other kids, they just let them keep doing it. The kids are shuffled around,” he said. “And they don't have the same protections as other kids.”

They all waited for a minute, but when it looked like he wasn't going to say anything, Jason pushed. “What happened to Justin?”

“I didn't know that he was back in,” he admitted. “It wasn't until later after my therapy that I found out you guys weren't Rangers anymore and that the Turbo Rangers went to space without Justin. His dad stuck around for a little bit and then he took off as well. He was tossed around to a few families before I found him.”

“Why did they keep moving him around?” Kim asked, looking more than a little perturbed. Rocky gave a sad smile.

“Because he's so smart in some cases,” he said. “They don't want the extra work that goes on with that.”

“And if he'd bored, he'll do things they don't want,” Billy added. They looked at him for a minute before accepting that if anyone understood, it would be Billy. “When I was bored, Dad made sure that I had other things to do. A foster family might not.”

“And there was one that was great for him,” Rocky said. “But they pulled him out of it.”

“Why?” Aisha asked, looking more than a little mad. Rocky looked at the ground.

“Because they decided he needed to be closer to his dad,” Rocky answered. “And the extra move 'won't matter' when he'd been moved around so much.”

All of them looked horrified by the information given. Jason was the first to pull himself together to ask the questions that they all had. “So, how can we help?” He asked. “What do we need to do?”

Rocky's look told them what they were dreading. He didn't know. They had a teammate out there who was scared, hurting, and in trouble and there wasn't anything they could do about it. Being a Power Ranger was a lot easier when you weren't having to work against the planet you were protecting. They sat there for a while and took it in. It wasn't just them who wanted to do something, it was the Power as well. The Power recognized them as a team and wanted them to help their teammate. The question was, how did they do that?

“There's nothing we can do on Earth,” Billy said softly. They all turned and looked at him as he vocalized their plight. His next words, however, were far more uplifting although extremely illegal. “But we can help him off this planet.”

“That's kidnapping,” Kat brought up, though there wasn't too much malice in her voice and she seemed to just be going through the motions. They were running low on options after all and trying to do this legally didn't seem to be working. They were all starting to head toward Billy's suggestion even if they didn't all want to admit it right then. They were out of other ideas. Zordon was gone. Dimitria was, to the best of their knowledge, gone. The Astro Rangers were fighting a battle elsewhere. In other words, they were alone.

That said, they were together right then. This had called all of them separately and each had shown up even Billy when he'd been on another planet. This was bigger than any of them and each of them were loyal to each other and the cause. The fact that several of them didn't even know Justin didn't matter. What matter was that they were family and Justin was part of that. Jason looked at all of them. “So,” he said as if it had already been decided. In Jason's mind, it had and there were no objections right then. “How do we save him?”

There wasn't a burst of suggestions, but rather there was a quiet contemplation as each of them tried to make the decision for themselves. Each of them were trying to come up with an idea and each of them saw the flaws in their plan. None of them had an idea that didn't hold a lot of risk for the others. It was Trini who finally came up with the plan. “We kidnap him as someone else,” she said. They all turned to look at her, curious as to what she meant. “We pretend to be someone evil.”

Tanya nodded at the idea. “That could work,” she agreed with her fellow yellow. “Everyone is already on edge anyway. As long as Justin is still near Angel Grove, we can blame it on a monster attack.”

“Power Ranger's stop monster attacks,” Zack mentioned. “So, how do we get around that?”

“With active morphers,” Adam said. They all looked at him. “It's dangerous, but it will work.”

Jason nodded firmly. “We go into this, some of us as monsters and the rest as Rangers. Only one of us needs to 'get away' with Justin. And then one of the Rangers needs to swear they'll find him.”

“So, who does what?” Aisha asked. “How do we decide who plays what role?”

“Well,” Kim said. “You and I are out, Aisha. We don't have an active morpher.”

“Neither do I,” Billy said. “I'll stay with you three.”

Jason pulled out his power coin, followed by Trini and Zack. “That's three.”

The former Zeo Rangers pulled out their own. “Eight,” Tommy said.

“That's a lot of Rangers and not a lot of monsters,” Kat mentioned. “I think it might not work if the Power Rangers lose in a battle like that.”

“Then Trini, Zack, and I will help Aisha, Kim, and Billy,” Jason said. At Tommy's beginning protest, he continued. “It's a better idea to have one full team than part of two. They'll wonder about the others.”

“So we have a plan,” Kim said happily. “Now we just have to do it.”

“And we need to let the active Rangers know,” Tanya added. “Or they might come to help.”

“We'll tell them and plan it during a different monster attack,” Jason said. “That way, no one will ask why they didn't help.”

The idea was formed and other small problems were discussed and set aside for the time being. All of them knew that this wouldn't be easy, but all of them wanted to be involved. They just needed to pull this off. Other things were discussed such as needing to be ready at all times as well as costumes and making certain that no one knew it was them. They knew that those who knew them would understand if they explained it, but most people wouldn't. They didn't want to force anyone into a bad position.

They headed off to prepare. While some of them were working on the outfits, others were figuring out ways to contact the other Rangers without being obvious. Still yet, Billy was trying to figure out different planets that Justin could move to. Right now, he intended to keep the boy nearby on Aquitar, but eventually he'd want to spread his wings and Aquitar was no place for his car. He'd need something better. He would want his own place, not a place where he'd be in Billy or anyone's shadow. They needed to prepare for that. It took several days and a lot of work before they felt ready. Now, they just needed to wait for everything to be ready and they could go with their plan.

***

With TJ and the others in the know, or at least partially in the know, they were alerted to when they were sure that a monster was attacking and that now would be a good idea to go with the plan. The only problem would be with Justin himself. They had no way of reassuring him before this went down that it was fake and trying to fight off another Ranger wasn't going to be easy. At least he was inactive. After a bit, it was decided that Billy would be the one to grab him since Justin knew of him and had looked up to him before. They just had to hope it would be enough.

Thus, while his friends played the most ridiculous and important game of cops and robbers in their life, Billy snuck into the house. Sure enough, Justin's foster parents wanted to see what was going on, but Justin knew better. That said, coming face to face with Turbo Blue was not something Billy was expecting and was, quite frankly, something that they hadn't taken into consideration at all. Billy quickly dodged, being careful to stay on the defensive which eventually Justin noticed. “Who are you?” He demanded.

“Apologies,” Billy managed to get out. “I'm slightly out of breath.”

Justin looked at him and powered down. “You're not a monster, are you?”

“For all intents and purposes, until we are out of the house, I am,” Billy said. Justin rocked on his feet, the warrior that he had been moments before was gone and he just looked very confused. Billy looked over at the door and then back at him. “I need you to come with me. Screaming and fighting, normal person fighting, would help.”

“What's going on?” Justin asked. “Why do you want me to come with you?”

Billy sighed. “Because we're going to get you out of here. And getting you off planet is the best idea we had,” he said.

Justin blinked a few times. “Who are you?”

“Billy,” he said, waiting for the recognition to go through. He could tell when it did considering that Justin literally looked in awe. “We can talk more later once we're out of here, but we need to leave.”

The boy just gave a half-nod and let Billy drag him out. The older Ranger was being a little rough with him but in a way where Justin wouldn't even bruise and both knew that Billy would be apologizing profusely later. The “Rangers” tried to get Justin away from him, but the “monsters” wouldn't let them. Billy dragged him off as the others finished their act and even followed after.

Billy had Justin in the remnants of the Command Center before Justin knew what hit him and looked apologetic again. “I know this place probably doesn't have the best memories,” he admitted. “But we all know where it is.”

Justin nodded. “What's going on?”

Before Billy could answer, they could hear voices coming in after. Justin looked ready to fight, but Billy's relaxed pose told him that it was probably safe. Kim's voice called out first. “Okay, that was the most fun I've had in years.”

“How are you that strong, Kim? That actually hurt.”

“You were powered up, Tommy. I didn't hurt you that bad.”

“At least you didn't get Jason,” Adam's voice rang out. Jason didn't bother to defend himself and Justin saw Billy trying not to laugh. They headed into the room and looked over to see Justin was standing there. His former teammates all looked completely ashamed of themselves, as if they realized what their inaction had caused. But right now they were here and that's what Justin was focusing on. The other Rangers, however, were looking at him completely differently. It was the first Black Ranger that made his way over first.

“So, you're the genius we were after,” he said cheerfully. He looked over at the others and then at Justin. “I thought you'd be shorter.”

Justin couldn't help but to smile a bit at that. Billy looked at his friend. “He put up quite a fight. And it seems he has an active morpher.”

“You tried to take down Billy?” Kim asked, looking completely impressed and more than a little amused. “Maybe we shouldn't have been worried.”

Trini headed over next to him and looked him over carefully. She glanced back at her friends before looking at him. She just gave him a smile and he took it. He did notice her slight nod to Jason who gave a quick nod back so he was pretty sure she was sizing him up. He hoped that he passed. Jason looked at Billy before headed over to Justin and motioned for him to sit down. The former Red Ranger was still taller than him, but at least he was trying to even the playing field. Justin knew the tactics for what they were, but he didn't care. “We just found out what was happening,” he said. “Rocky found out.”

Justin shot Rocky a thankful look before turning back to Jason. “Ok...”

“We did a bad job of making sure you were going to be okay,” Jason continued. Justin wanted to remind him that he probably hadn't even known that Justin existed too long ago, but he also really didn't want to interrupt. “We can't leave you in foster care and even if we applied to foster you, you might get taken out of our care. So, we think it would be better if we got you off world.”

Trini was the next one over. “We didn't consider that you might be able to morph or protect yourself,” she said. “If you want to go back, we won't stop you. We'll just do what we can to try to help you. If you don't, we've been planning on getting you off planet.”

“Where?” He asked. They looked at him curiously. “I don't want to be alone.”

Billy set his hand on his shoulder. “Aquitar for now,” he answered. “It's where I reside. I would like you to stay with me.”

Aisha nodded. “We'll be coming too. All of us.”

“I needed a break from gymanstics,” Kim said with a smile. Zack grinned.

“I've been wanting to visit new planets,” he agreed.

“I don't have any protests coming up,” Trini said.

“Wasn't even a choice,” Jason said firmly, smiling at Justin.

Rocky looked over at Justin. “I want to come with,” he said. “I finished physical therapy. Justin, I am so sorry.”

Justin looked at him for a minute before walking over and gently pulling Rocky into a hug. Rocky hugged back, continuing to apologize as he did so. Justin just leaned into it. “You came after me,” he whispered. “You saved me.”

The guilt that Rocky was feeling intensified and Justin just held him and tried to help calm him down. He looked over Rocky's shoulder toward the others who were still standing there looking upset and ashamed. Adam was the first to speak up. “We shouldn't have left.”

Justin nodded once in agreement. “Are you coming?” He asked. 

“To help settle you in,” Adam answered. Justin nodded. He didn't really want them to put their lives on hold to stay longer. He had the feeling that he's be ushering the others back to Earth soon enough as well. Billy lived there so he would have someone at his side.

“And we'll visit often,” Kat said firmly.

“And call,” Tanya promised.

“Often,” Tommy finished.

Justin smiled at that. “Thanks,” he said. He glanced at Billy. “Storm Blaster can't come, can he?”

“He can,” Billy said. “But there's nowhere for him to drive.”

Justin nodded. “Then he can just come and go,” he said calmly. Rocky still hadn't let go of him and Justin didn't have the heart to pull him off. Fortunately, Trini did and got Aisha to help him. “So, when do I leave?”

“We leave now,” Jason said. “Are you ready?”

Justin nodded.

Several Years Later:

Justin across the Eltarian capital city, plans in his hands. At twenty years old, he was easily the youngest technological scientist on the planet, but they were more than happy to have him. To make him feel less like an outsider, he was give the surname of Dar'Zordon, or son of Zordon. All of the other Rangers had the same. The Rangers he spent time with anyway, but most of them rarely used it to the extent that Justin did. He knew that Jason sometimes could when he was being an ambassador. Justin paused as the man he'd been thinking about headed toward him. The first earth Red Ranger looked at him with a smile as he turned to match Justin's steps.

“You have something?” He asked and Justin nodded.

“I think I can improve on the teleporters,” he answered. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren't due back yet.”

“I'm not,” Jason answered. His small smile told Justin that his friend was checking up on him again and that he should probably be more annoyed than he was. “Billy wanted to be here, but he has to finish up his work back on Aquitar.”

After the move, Billy had gone out of his way to treat Justin like he was a younger brother. None of them were like parents, they were too young, but Billy was possibly the closest that he had. He'd made certain to help him and encourage him while he lived on the water planet. When Justin had decided to spread his wings, Billy had assured him that he'd been waiting for the young man to do so and that he was proud of him. Justin had tried to pretend like he didn't need it, but the older man had also encouraged him to drop the masks so that they could see when he was upset.

“It's not a big deal,” Justin tried, but Jason gave him a look and Justin turned a little red. “Okay, it's kind of a big deal.”

“We still need to work on your self-esteem,” Jason mentioned. “Kim is on her way. So is Tanya.”

“No Aisha this time?” He joked and Jason rolled his eyes.

“Kim said it was her turn and grabbed Tanya before Tanya even knew what it was about. Trini said that she and Kat called the 'next invention he is showing' while Rocky whined that he wanted to come,” Jason said. “We wouldn't let him since his back is acting up again.”

Justin nodded. “Can you send a message back to him?” Jason nodded. “Rocky, stop being an idiot. I know you care. If you get paralyzed from trying to overdo it, I won't speak to you for a month.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “A month?”

“You know I'm lying and I know I'm lying. Hopefully, he doesn't know,” Justin said. “And don't be a diplomat this time.”

It was Jason's turn to look a little red as he tried to hide it. “Adam's waiting for us. Since Billy couldn't make it, he came with.”

“How's Tommy?” Justin asked. “Finally trying to retire?”

“He says that he didn't mean to be a Power Ranger again,” Jason said. “Zack insists he's going through the rainbow. Billy tried to assure him that he'd never be blue.”

Justin laughed at that and they headed toward the door which was still shut. Adam was waiting next to it. “Took you long enough.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Justin said, giving his friend a quick hug. “Thanks for the escort, Jason.”

Jason nodded. He wouldn't be permitted to enter. Only Billy or Adam could go with Justin through the door. Yet, before Justin did, he grabbed Jason and Adam's wrists. Both of them looked confused, but when he had their attention, he smiled. “Dar'Zordon.”

Both of them smiled back at that. “Dar'Zordon,” they agreed. Justin nodded, turning back to head inside. He had a family who shared a name and their time with him. He was successful. He hadn't crashed and burned and died in a system that didn't care. They were Rangers, but more importantly, they were family.


End file.
